SANTA CRUZ, CA, Aug. 23, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The New Teacher Center (NTC) Board of Directors today announced that Tommy Chang, EdD, will become the next CEO of the organization. Chang currently serves as the acting CEO and President of Families In Schools. His appointment will take effect in mid-September 2022.
Chang brings over 25 years of education experience and leadership to this role, including significant positions in schools, districts, and nonprofit organizations. His journey began with and continues to return to the life-changing moment he answered the call to become a teacher. Before leading Families In Schools, Chang spent three years as a consultant and coach to school system leaders and advised organizations such as Great Public Schools Now LA, FourPoint Education Partners, and Whiteboard Advisors. He has served on several nonprofit boards such as Leading Educators and Silicon Schools Fund as well as Education Leaders of Color, an organization dedicated to elevating the leadership, voices, and influence of people of color in education to lead more inclusive efforts to improve education. From 2015-2018, he served as superintendent for Boston Public Schools during which time the district saw increases in student graduation rates and decreases in school dropout rates. He also supported developing and implementing The Essentials for Instructional Equity, an innovative framework for teaching and learning aimed at closing student opportunity and achievement gaps.
"New Teacher Center is redefining learning experiences for systemically underserved students, leveraging the power of coaching to transform systems and practices to put students and equity at the center," said Shruti Sehra, chair of NTC's Board of Directors. "Dr. Tommy Chang's background and experience as an immigrant student, a former English language learner, a teacher, a school system leader, a nonprofit education leader, and a nonprofit board member make him uniquely qualified to drive NTC's vision onward. The Board is excited for Dr. Chang to lead the successful implementation of NTC's strategy and catalyze the organization as a change agent for U.S. education in this pivotal moment."
"I am honored to join New Teacher Center, a research-proven and teacher-founded changemaker, at such a critical moment for educators and education," said Chang. "The world is seeing what we've known for some time: investing in our teachers is the greatest lever for equity and opportunity for future generations. Sustaining teachers with the highest-quality wraparound support stabilizes our schools, ensures students' equitable learning experiences, and transforms communities with our young people — and education — at the center. I am thrilled to work with an incredible staff and leading-edge partners to write new chapters in NTC's two-decade legacy of work."
Chang, a native of Taiwan who immigrated with his family to the U.S. at age six, grew up in Los Angeles. He holds a doctorate in education from Loyola Marymount University, two master's degrees in education from the Principal Leadership Institute and the Teacher Education Program at the University of California Los Angeles, and a bachelor's degree from the University of Pennsylvania.
He served as the local instructional superintendent of the Intensive Support and Innovation Center at the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), where he focused on school turnaround efforts and supported innovative school models in the district. Before LAUSD, he also served as founding principal of Ánimo Venice Charter High School and biology teacher at Compton High School.
The Board of Directors shares its appreciation and gratitude to interim Co-CEOs Atyani Howard and Arthur Mills IV for their service and leadership. Howard will resume her role as Chief Program Officer and Mills as Chief Operating Officer, effective September 2022.
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About New Teacher Center's CEO search
Offor is a Black woman-owned talent advisory and executive search firm serving mission-driven organizations. It has advised The Bridgespan Group, Echoing Green, Beloved Community, Teach for America, UpTogether, Kivvit, Obama Foundation, and The Surge Institute. Committed to DEI and diverse representation in leadership, 90 percent of Offor c-level executive placements are filled by Black, Latine, or Asian candidates. www.offor.co
About New Teacher Center
New Teacher Center (NTC) is a national nonprofit focused on supporting systemically underserved students by accelerating the effectiveness of teachers and school leaders. NTC partners with states, school districts, and policymakers to design and implement coaching-based professional learning programs. Its unique coaching model spans and balances educational ecosystems in partnership with school districts to co-create thriving, rigorous, student-centered, and equitable instructional cultures where all students and educators succeed in heart and mind. www.newteachercenter.org
